Human Rights First

Previously known as Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and now rechristened as Human Rights First. Founded in 1977 by Jerome Shestack.


 * Winner of the 1984 Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award
 * NGO Advisory Council, Fair Labor Association


 * Michael H. Posner - President
 * Maureen Byrnes - Executive Director
 * Marvin E. Frankel - Chairman Emeritus (1920 – 2002)
 * John Weis - Former Director of Development

$100,000 and Above

 * Anonymous (4), The Atlantic Philanthropies, Andi Bernstein and Tom A. Bernstein, FJC – A Foundation of Donor Advised Funds, Ford Foundation, Francis W. Hatch, Huyler C. Held, JEHT Foundation, Kaplen Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, John Merck Fund, Oak Foundation, Open Society Institute, Picower Foundation, Jay & Kelly Sugarman Foundation, Deborah Miller and William D. Zabel

$50,000 – $99,999

 * Arca Foundation, David Berg Foundation, Deborah Cogut and Craig Cogut, Matthew S. Dontzin, Fiona & Stanley Druckenmiller, Elysium Foundation, Fund for New Citizens at the New York Community Trust, Fund for New Jersey, Peter and Helen Haje, Arnold Hiatt, John N. Irwin III, Virginia and Robert Joffe, JoAnn and Robert Todd Lang, New York University, Overbrook Foundation, Rhodebeck Charitable Trust, Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999
2005-06 Annual Report pdf
 * Anonymous (3), Herb Block Foundation, Brenner Family Foundation, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Alisa and Daniel Doctoroff, Equal Justice Works, Kenneth R. Feinberg, Leslie Gimbel and Marc Kusnetz, Myrna and Steve Greenberg, Marc Haas?Foundation, Michael and Caroline Huber, Helen and Martin Kimmel, Kramer Levin Naftalis &?Frankel LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, Moriah Fund, Franklin and Margaret Parker, Toni Rembe & Arthur Rock, Paul D. Schurgot Foundation, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Harold Snyder, George Soros, TAUPO Community Fund of Tides Foundation, TRIARC Companies, Inc., Lawson Valentine Foundation, Wallace Foundation, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Other interesting funders include: Covington & Burling, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flome, Lockheed Martin Corp., Mitsubishi International Corp.

2006 Directors
2006
 * William D. Zabel (Chair) Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
 * Kenneth R. Feinberg (Vice-Chair) The Feinberg Group LLP
 * Robert D. Joffe (Vice-Chair) Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP
 * Lynda Clarizio (Treasurer) Advertising.com
 * A. Whitney Ellsworth (Secretary) Publishing Consultant
 * M. Bernard Aidinoff - Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
 * Tom A. Bernstein - Chelsea Piers Management Inc.
 * Raymond M. Brown - Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis
 * Craig Cogut - Pegasus Investors, L.P.
 * Donald Francis Donovan - Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
 * Gail Furman - Psychologist, NYU School of Medicine
 * Leslie Gimbel - Bernard F. and Alva B. Gimbel Foundation
 * R. Scott Greathead - Wiggin & Dana LLP
 * Myrna K. Greenberg - Founder, City Lights Youth Theatre
 * Louis Henkin - Columbia University School of Law
 * John D. Hutson - President and Dean, Franklin Pierce Law Center, Ret. Rear Admiral, JAGC, USN
 * Lewis B. Kaden - Vice Chairman, CAO, Citigroup Inc.
 * Juliette Kayyem - Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, Harvard University
 * Kerry Kennedy - RFK Memorial Center for Human Rights
 * Harold Hongju Koh - Dean, Yale Law School
 * Philip A. Lacovara - Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw
 * Jo Backer Laird - Christie's Inc.
 * Robert Todd Lang - Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
 * Michael K. Rozen - The Feinberg Group LLP
 * Barbara A. Schatz - Columbia University, School of Law
 * Steven R. Shapiro - American Civil Liberties Union
 * George A. Vradenburg - The Vradenburg Foundation
 * Sigourney Weaver - Actor

National Council
Source
 * Chair - Talbot D'Alemberte - Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
 * Robert L. Bernstein - New York, NY,
 * Jeffrey L. Bleich - Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco, CA
 * Derek Bok - Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
 * David Brink - Dorsey & Whitney, Minneapolis, MN
 * James J. Brosnahan - Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, CA
 * James P. Clark - Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Century City, CA
 * Benjamin Civiletti - Venable LLP, Baltimore, MD
 * William K. Coblentz - Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, San Francisco, CA
 * Jerome B. Falk, Jr. - Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin PC, San Francisco, CA
 * Frances Farenthold - Houston, TX
 * Larry A. Hammond - Osborn Maledon, Phoenix, AZ
 * Mark Harrison - Osborn Maledon, Phoenix, AZ
 * Donald Hubert - The Hubert Law Group, Chicago, IL
 * Paul H. Irving - Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, Los Angeles, CA
 * Helene Kaplan - Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, NY
 * John W. Keker - Keker & Van Nest LLP, San Francisco, CA
 * Robert Kerrigan - Kerrigan Estess Rankin & McLeod LLP, Pensacola, FL
 * Paul Liebenson - Tellabs Inc., Northbrook, IL
 * Abner J. Mikva - University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
 * Samuel R. Miller - Folger Levin & Kahn LLP, San Francisco, CA
 * Patrick G. Moran - Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Chicago, IL
 * Steven A. Nissen - Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, Los Angeles, CA
 * Duane C. Quaini - Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Chicago, IL
 * Bruce Rabb - Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, New York, NY
 * Randall S. Rapp - Chicago, IL
 * W. Reece Smith - Carlton Fields Ward Emmanuel Smith & Cutler, Tampa, FL
 * Jerold S. Solovy - Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL
 * Rose Styron - Roxbury, CT
 * Stephen D. Susman - Susman Godfrey LLP, Houston, TX
 * Steven T. Walther - Walther Key Maupin Oats Cox & LeGoy, Reno, NV
 * Michael W. Zavis - Katten Munchin & Zavis, Chicago, IL

Contact details

 * Human Rights First
 * 333 Seventh Avenue
 * 13th Floor
 * New York, NY 10001-5004
 * Tel: (212) 845 5200
 * Fax: (212) 845 5299
 * Email: communications AT humanrightsfirst.org
 * Web: www.humanrightsfirst.org

Related Sourcewatch

 * Makau Mutua former Director of their Africa Project
 * Susan Rappaport - former director
 * Melvin Washington
 * Jack David, cofounder
 * Camille Massey - former director of communications